Green-corn cutter



(Model.) 2 sheets-sheer, 1.

' S. D. WARFIELD. GREEN CORN GUTTER.

No. 258,174. Patented Mayml, 1882.`

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2. S. D. WARPIELD. GREEN CORN GUTTER.

Patented May 16, 1882.

INVENl-C) Q /m n UNITED STATES `PATENT OFFICE.-

SOLOMON D. WARFIELD, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

GREEN-CORN CUTTER;

` `SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 258,174, dated May 16, -1882.

Application tiled September 217i, 1881. (Model.) t

To all whom it may concern n Beit known that I, SOLOMON D. WARFIELD, of the city of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain Improvements in Green-Corn Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

This :invention relates to certain improvements in a green-corn cutter for which Letters Patent of the United States No. 247,718 were granted to me on the 27th day of September,

1881. The invention, as described in the said Letters Patent, briefly stated, consists in a machine in which an ear of corn supported axially between centers is stripped of the adhering grain by means of a longitudinally-moving knife in a series of cuts, the ear being partially revolved after each operative movement of the knife, which has attachments whereby a uniform depth of cut is effected Without reference to irregularities in the shape of the ear. In' the saidinvention no devices are used to assist the operator in centering the ear, the accurate placing ofthe same centrally on the points prepared for its reception being one in which the dexterity of the operator is brought into play.

One object of my present invention is, therefore, to furnish the machine with such contrivances as will admit of unskilled labor being used, and render the centering of the ear an operation requiring little or no dexterity or care on the part of the operator.

To this end my invention consists, first, in combining with the centering points or devices for holding and revolving th'euear eontrivances into which the ends of ,the earare placed, and which-automatically guide the 'ear to the centering-points, and, further, to the construction of these guiding contri'vances, Whereb y they are automatically moved out of the way or track of the knife and its attachments `after the center' in g operation and returned to their original` positions after the grain has been stripped from the cob, ready to receive another ear.

The invention consists, secondly, in combining with the longitudinally-moving knife and its connections a scraper,- preferably adjnstable in position, which follows the knife inits cutting stroke and removes from the cob any portion of the grain left adhering thereto.

The said `invention' consists, thirdly, in a chute to receive the grainl and cobs after the cutting operation and to guide them in different directions, and in combining with the knife a defiectin g device to give the severed grain, as it leaves the cob, a movement in a common direction, and thereby prevent scattering.

In the further description of my said invention which follows, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof, and in Which- Figure I is a perspective view of the improved machine. Fig. II is a similar view of apart of the machine not shown in Fig. 1, and on an enlarged scale. Figs. III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X-are geometrical views of parts of the machine on an enlarged scale.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in allthe views.

A is the bed-plate of the machine, supported on legs a. Y

B is a revoluble shaft sustained in a frame, G, and having a pointed blade or driving-center, b, at its inner end, which is inserted in one end ofthe ear of corn from which the grain is to be stripped. The other end of the ear .of corn is supported by a bar, D, having a stationary center, c.` The bar D is adapted to slide longitudinally in a stand, (Ltoward and from the driving-center, and it is influenced to a retracted position by means of a weighted chain, c, which extends from its outer end over a pulley, as shown Lin Fig.- I. Although a Weighted chain, as described, is preferred as means for reti-acting the bar D, a spring may be employed without materially changing the character of the invention. A second chain, f, leads from the bar D over a pulley or sheave to a treadle, g, by meanswof which the said bar can be forced toward the driving-center in the operation of centering the car, hereinafter described. Throughthe agency of these' devices the operator may use his foot to perform the centering operation, instead of his hand, as in the patented invention.

E E are centeringprongs extending from a collar, h, adapted for movement longitudinally of the shaft B. These prongs project radially* from the collar h, and their expansion is'such that the largest ear may be easily placed withf in them. A pin, t, on the collar h, passes through a slotted Weighted lever, F, pivoted f' to the bed-plate or-some other fixed part of the f machine, the object of which will hereinafter appear. The prongs have two main or ixed positions-viz., one with their flared ends projecting over the driving-center, as shown in Fig. V, and with the said ends thrown back, as shown in Fig. VIII. The first-named position is the one which the prongs occupy atthe commencement ofthe centering operation, and the second that when the centering is aecomplished and the cutting action is about to take place. G G are centering-prongs similar in construction to the ones E E, projectingv from a collar, lf, placed loosely on the bar D, which has a pin, l, which enters a slot in the weighted lever H.v This second lever is pivoted to a downward extension, m, of the bar D. Colisequently its relative position with reference to the said bar is not changed by the lateral movement of that device.

I isa knife secured rigidly to a carrier, K, pivoted t0 a holder, L, supported by and adapted to slide on guide-rods n, and a reciprocating motion of the knife and its attachments is effected through the medium of a crank, M, and connecting-rod o. A roller, N, is ad justably attached to the knife-carrier K and rests on the ear in advance of the knife to give a uniform depth of ent without reference to any longitudinal curvature or irregularity in the shape of the ear. The rear part of the knife I is turned upward, as shown in Fig. X ot' the drawings, so that the grain when removedlfrom the cob may be thrown laterally off the knife, as will be readily understood.

O is ascraper hinged to an arm, P,pivoted to the holder L in like manner tothe carrier K.

AspringQ, has the effect of retaining the scraper in contact with the cob-in the rear of the knife, and the scraper removes any portion of grain left adhering to the cob. The hinging of the scraper to the arm Padmi'ts of that contrivance adapting itself to any peculiarity of shape in thecob. The arm P is preferably in two parts, as shown in Figs. 1X and X-fthat is to say, with the outer section susceptiblevof a limited axial movement in order that the scraper may change its angle with reference to the cob in its forward and backward motions.

In Fig. X the knife-carrier and the scraper and its attachments are shown as elevated to ./a much higher position than they ever attain intheoperat'ion of themachine. This is done to illustrate their construction and mode of attachment to the holder in a single view.

R R are mitergears connecting the shaft B scribed.

A rod, p, projecting from the-knife-h'older so that the ear will be stripped of its grain in four or ve cuts of the knife.

U is a guide-rod, upon which the knife-carrier rides as the knife passes beyond the end of the ear in its backward movement, thus preventing its contact with the shaft B or the frame C. A similar guide-rod, V, is fastened to the bar D, and its ofce is substantially-the same as the one U, only that it comes into -contact with the knife-carrier in the forward or cutting., stroke.

W is a rod having an eye, t, at one end, which encircles the drivingcenter, and it is confined in suitable supports on the bed-plate A, and is adapted to have a longitudinal movement. The other end of the rod Wis bent upward and to such position as to c ome in contact with a brace on the guide-rod V as the Y same is forced back. A lateral extension, u,

of the rod W engages with the lever F in its backward movement, and through it changesthe position of the prongs 'E from the one shown in Fig. VIII to that illustrated in Fig. V, as will be hereinafter more particularlyde- The corresponding change in position of the centering-prongs G on the bar D in the retraction of the said bar is effected by the collar 7c, from which the said prongs extend., coming into contact with the stand d.

The centering-prongs E. and G being placed as shown in Figs. IV and V and thev knife moved back to its extreme limit, the operation of the machine is as follows: The ear of corn is first inserted between the centering-pron-gs E, and the bar D, with its centering-prongs G,

' moved up to it by means of the treadle g and the mechanismconnecting it to the said bar. As soon as pressure isplaced upon the ear by means of the treadle the two sets of centering prongs yield a-nd are forced back, and the ear brought into contact with, the center points which enter it. In this action the weighted levers F and H are thrown slightly past the vert-ical line, after which gravity causes them to move sti-ll farther in th-e same direction,

releases the cob and discharges it, and places the centering-prongs in their original position, ready for the reception of another ear. A chute, X, (shown in Fig. 1.I,) secures the corn and cob, and thelatter, fallin g on a system of transverse wires, w, is deflected to an aperture, m, having a hinged door, y, opening outward, through which it is discharged to any suitable receptacle. The corn is guided by the upwardly-turned rear end of the knife to the IIO IIS

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chute, and thence to another receptacle placed. underneath the machine for its reception.

In the foregoing description I have used the word centering-points7 to designate the devices for supporting the ear axially; but it is evident that any other device, even if devoid of points, that will sustain the ear in the re quired position during the cutting operation will answer the purpose to some extent.

I cla-im as my invention- 1. In a green-corn cutter, the revoluble shaft and the bar carrying the centers for supporting an ear of corn, provided with flaring centering devices adapted to yield and expose the said ear to the s'aid centers as the ear is i' compressed endwisein the centeringoperatlon,

substantially as and for the purpose specied.

2. In a green-corn cutter, the centering prongs or devices for centering the ear of corn, connected to weighted pivoted levers, whereby they are susceptible of longitudinal movement on their respective shafts and bars by 'the force of gravity in excess of that imparted to them by the endwise compression of the ear, substantially` as and for the purpose specified.

tlieirseparation, provided with interior deflecting devices to conduct the cob to an exit-apen ture distinct from that for the grain, substantially as specified. i

6. Incombinatiou withthebarl), the Weighted chain e, chain f, and treadle g, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

soLoMoN D. WARFIELD.

Wi t uesses J. D. HOWARD, JN0. T. MADDOX. 

